1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates to the performance of heater-less lead selenide based detection of carbon dioxide levels, and to calibration for temperature of a lead selenide detector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sensor devices that implement Non-Dispersive Infrared (NDIR) gas analysis by means of lead selenide (PbSe) detectors that are sensitive to infrared radiation are known. Generally, these sensor devices employ heaters to maintain the temperature of the lead selenide detectors within very tight tolerances during operation. The regulation of temperature of the lead selenide detectors increases initialization time for users, increases the cost of manufacture and/or maintenance, and may adversely impact the longevity of these conventional devices.
Sensor devices that employ lead selenide detectors without heaters and temperature regulation generally use the detectors themselves to detect their own temperature. This is because a detector's “dark resistance” (i.e., the DC resistance of the detector in total darkness) is related to the detector's temperature, a phenomenon leveraged in such sensor devices.